Nick was dressed in jeans, a dark green sweater, and bomber jacket-the perfect image of a rich college student. Talon looked like a biker who had just left Sanctuary, New Orleans's premier biker bar. Acheron looked like a refugee from the Dungeon-the local underground goth hangout. Valerius was the professional contingent, and Zarek...
Zarek just looked like he was ready to kill something.
"So why are we congregating?" Zarek asked.
The repugnant hatred in Valerius's eyes was searing. "Did anyone speak to you, slave?'
Acheron barely caught Zarek's hand before his claw sliced Valerius's vulnerable throat. Never before had Talon seen Acheron struggle so hard to hold someone back. It spoke a lot for Zarek's power.
And his temper.
"Cease!" Acheron ordered Zarek. "I know it's been a long time since you were around another Dark-Hunter, Z, but remember, whatever you do to him, you will feel it tenfold."
Zarek's face hardened. "Pain I can take, it's him I can't."
Valerius still had his lips curled. "I don't see why we need a whipping boy for the Daimons to play with. You know, he was so worthless in his lifetime that my father had to pay a slaver to take him off our hands."
Zarek let out the snarl of a wild beast. An instant later, Acheron was thrown clear of him and Zarek bolted at Valerius. He caught the Roman around the waist and the two of them hit the street. Hard.
Before Talon could pull him off Valerius, Zarek got in a number of solid punches and one last kick to the Roman's ribs as Talon hauled him up.
Just as Acheron had said, Zarek's face showed every blow he had given to Valerius. His nose and lips were bleeding profusely. Zarek didn't seem to notice and if he did, the satisfied gleam in his black eyes said the ex-Roman slave thought it well worth the cost.
Valerius was only slightly more subdued as he regained his feet. "You should be beaten for that."
Talon tightened his hold on Zarek.
Angrily, Zarek shoved him away. "Get your fucking hands off me, Celt." Then he turned back to Valerius. "Try beating me, you sorry piece of shit, and I'll force-feed you that black heart of yours."
"Enough!" Acheron roared. "Another word from either one of you, and I swear I'll rip both your hearts out."
Valerius wiped the blood from his lips.
Zarek raked his hand across his face, removing the blood, while he glared murderously at Valerius.
Acheron was a man of infinite patience and Talon had never seen Acheron exasperated before. But he saw it now.
Acheron glared at the Dark-Hunters. "Next time I'll just send the three of you e-mails. What was I thinking when I decided to have this meeting?"
Nick spoke up. "Oh, I know. That men who are a couple of thousand years old could actually behave like grownups?"
Zarek elbowed Nick in the stomach.
"Oops," Zarek said to Acheron. "Involuntary arm spasm."
Acheron cursed under his breath. "I swear, Daimons or not, if you don't behave, Z, I'm going to send you to Antarctica and leave you there to rot."
"Ooo," Zarek breathed in a bored tone. "I'm terrified. Those killer penguins and hairy seals are really scary."
Acheron growled a low warning at Zarek.
Talon felt for his frustrated leader. He knew why Acheron had set up this meeting. The Atlantean had wanted to know what would happen when the three of them crossed paths. Better to see how much hostility there was up front and be here to control it than to chance a random meeting where Zarek could beat the snot out of Valerius without someone there to break them up.
Now Acheron knew exactly what he was dealing with and how much space to put between them. Talon had to salute the Atlantean's wisdom. Acheron might be young in appearance, but he was truly ancient in his powers, knowledge, and ability to handle the rogue Dark-Hunters who answered to him.
Acheron passed a look to each of them. "If you can control yourselves for five minutes, we need to divide up the city. Since I'm the only one able to take the cemeteries, I'll grab those. Valerius, I want you in the garden and business districts, Zarek and Talon can take the Quarter. On Mardi Gras itself, we all need to be in the Vieux Carre no later than nine."
He turned to Nick. "You are on standby. In the event one of us goes down, I need you to mobilize quickly."
"Just one little problem."
"And that is?"
Nick indicated Valerius with his head. "If he goes down, he's on his own."
Zarek smiled. "I knew I liked this kid for a reason."
Nick shot him a disbelieving stare.
"Nick," Acheron said, his voice laced with warning, "your duty is to all of us. Valerius is a Dark-Hunter same as me, Talon, and Zarek."
"I know I swore my oath, but I swore it to protect Kyrian of Thrace and hell will freeze colder than Santa's iceberg before I ever lift even an eyebrow to help the man who tortured and crucified him."
Valerius's eyes blazed.
"That was his grandfather, not him."
Nick pointed a finger at Valerius. "He was there, too, watching it happen, and he did nothing to stop it. I refuse to render aid to someone who could do that." He looked back at Ash. "You, psycho-ass, and Talon, I'll cover, but not him."
"Psycho-ass?" Zarek repeated. "Hmm, I like that."
Acheron ignored Zarek. "Nick-"
"It's all right, Greek," Valerius interrupted. "I would rather die than have his plebeian help anyway."
"Make that three votes, then," Zarek said. "I would rather he died too. Now all together, let's vote this asshole off the island."
Talon hid his amusement and wondered how much longer it would be before Acheron splintered Zarek and Valerius into itty-bitty Dark-Hunter pieces.
Maybe he should tell Nick to get a dustpan ready. The look on Acheron's face said the wait wouldn't be much longer.
"Fine, then," Acheron said to Nick. "Call Eric St. James and have him resume Barnacle Squire status for Valerius should Valerius need anything."
Nick nodded. "Can I have him cover Zarek too? I still have school to worry about."
Before Acheron could answer, Valerius sneered, "I will not work with a slave as an equal nor will I share a servant with him."
Zarek's nostrils flared. "Trust me, boy, we're not equal. You're so far beneath me that I would sooner sit in shit than let you wipe my ass."
Talon caught Valerius before he reached Zarek.
He exchanged looks with Acheron. "This is going to be fun, isn't it? Constantly separating the two of them while fighting off the Daimons. Should we just forget the whole thing and hole up in our homes until it's over?"
But even more discouraging was the knowledge that if Kyrian found out Valerius was in the city, he would make Zarek's attack look like a loving embrace. And since Kyrian was no longer a Dark-Hunter, his powers wouldn't be dampened by Artemis's restriction. He would have free rein to kill the Roman.
Acheron sighed irritably. "I'm almost ready to agree with you." He turned to Valerius. "Go patrol your districts."
Valerius gave him a rather sarcastic Roman salute, then turned on his heel and left them.
The air between them warmed up considerably. Hell, Zarek even looked almost... tolerable. A noticeable amount of tension left the man's body.
"Am I staying with you and Kyrian or Nick?" Zarek asked.
Acheron fell quiet while he fished a key out of his jacket pocket. "We thought it best that you have your own place. I had Nick rent a townhouse for you over on Dauphin Street. He painted the windows black and made sure they were all blocked from daylight."
Zarek's face returned to stone and his black eyes blazed. For some reason, the man was furious as he snatched the key from Acheron's hand and turned to leave.
"I'll have Nick show you where it is," Acheron said.
"I don't need anyone to show me a damn thing," Zarek snarled. "I'll find it on my own."
After Zarek stalked off, Nick grimaced. "I know," he said to Acheron. " 'Nick, go after psycho-ass and show him where he lives.' But might I point out that in doing this, I should qualify for hazard pay?"
Acheron arched a brow. "Might I point out that staying here with me is far more hazardous to your health?"
Nick feigned surprise. "What? Am I still here? Oh no, sorry, thought I'd left ten minutes ago."
He sprinted off after Zarek.
Once they were alone, Talon raked a hand through his hair. "Some nights it's not worth getting up, is it?"
"You've no idea." Acheron let out a long, deep breath as if he were expelling all the tension in his body.
"So tell me, T-Rex, what did you do to Artemis to make her dump this on you?"
As expected, Acheron said nothing. To Talon's knowledge, he had never divulged anything personal about himself or the exact nature of his relationship with the goddess.
"Walk with me, Talon."
That didn't sound good, but Talon followed him.
Acheron remained silent as they left the Pedestrian Mall and headed down Pirate's Alley in the direction of Royal Street.
Just beside the St. Louis Cathedral, near the small garden behind it, Acheron stopped. Talon glanced about uneasily. Dark-Hunters didn't do well around holy places. Since they were men who had lost their souls, souls that had lost their bodies tended to want to take up residence with them. A strong Dark-Hunter could fight the souls off, but only Acheron was completely immune to possession.
It was the main reason Dark-Hunters lived only in new houses and why Nick had taken a psychic into Zarek's townhouse to ensure no ghosts were hanging out. A possessed Dark-Hunter was a scary thing.
"Tell me about the woman you spent the day with."
He started at Acheron's words. The man's powers had never ceased to amaze him. "Nothing to tell, really."
"Don't lie to me, Talon. Sunshine is still within you. I can feel her there. She's in your thoughts and your blood."
The man was truly eerie. "Look, I know where my duties lie. I made an oath to Artemis and I'm not trying to find a way to break it."
"That's not what concerns me."
"Then what is?" Talon asked.
"Do you remember what I told you the night you took vengeance against your clan?"
"Nothing comes without a price."
"Exactly. This woman is inside you, little brother. If you don't get her out, she will unlock those emotions I taught you to bury."
"Would that be so bad?"
Acheron removed his sunglasses and gave him a hard, serious stare with those ageless, timeless glowing eyes. "Yes, it would. You are the one Dark-Hunter I can depend on to have a clear, level head. I need you to stay focused, especially since we have Daimon Fest coming up and two Dark-Hunters in town who hate each other.
"Your emotions are the key to your powers, Talon. When you lose your control, you lose your Dark-Hunter immortality with it, and I don't want to see you dead because you can't control your libido."
"Don't worry. I'm under control."
"Good. Just make sure you stay that way because if you don't, you will get yourself killed."