Stryker landed beside her in a powerful crouch. Without so much as a grunt, he rose to his feet to stare down at her with one arched brow.
Effing showoff.
Sam pushed herself up and stumbled. Yeah, she still didn't have her vortex legs.
Stryker stepped past her to his throne where a small orb that reminded her of the sun was set on the right arm. It hovered just above his hand--no bigger than the size of her fist. It was so bright, that she could barely look at it without flinching.
His dark eyes gleaming, Stryker danced his fingers under it. "This belongs to my father. I want you to touch it and tell me his weakness. Tell me how to break our curse so that my people don't die. And most of all, I want to know how to kill that bastard."
His hatred radiated to her.
But the sad thing was, she couldn't help him. "It doesn't work that way."
Fury poured from his glare. "For your sake, Huntress. For Devereaux's sake, it better."
A shiver went down her spine. This had the making of a royal disaster. She had no idea if she could hone her powers that way....
C'mon, don't fail me now. It wasn't just her life on the line. It was Dev's.
Sam looked around at all the Daimons who were gathered and as she did so, she picked up bits and pieces from them about their lives. Most of all, she picked up their hope that she could free them of their curse.
I have to get Dev and get out of here.
She was a powerful fighter, but she wasn't good enough to win against this number. If Stryker was lying, there really wasn't much she'd be able to do except die painfully at their hands.
But she'd go down fighting. To the bitter end.
Taking a deep breath, she closed the distance between her and his throne. Her gaze locked on his, she reached out and touched the orb. The light that emanated from inside it arced and filled her palm with warmth. She saw so many images all at once that she couldn't understand any of them.
Until one became more prominent than the others.
It was Artemis dressed in a white gown and looking just as she did the night Sam had sold her soul to the goddess. Artemis was furious as she confronted Apollo in his temple. "What have you done, brother?"
Apollo's golden hair gleamed like pure sunlight. His features were beyond perfect. He sat on an overstuffed gold chaise with his sister beside him. "They betrayed me. They killed my son, my baby son. Was I supposed to forgive them that?"
Artemis shook her head. "Why would you curse all of them?"
He sneered at her. "Like you have never acted impulsively? This is all your fault. Had you not been sleeping with a human whore none of this would have occurred!"
Artemis glowered at him. "And you've killed him too and damn near all of us in the process. Would you destroy this entire pantheon over your dead whore?"
He stood up to tower over her. "Why not? You risked it for yours!"
Artemis refused to back down as she faced him. "Leave Acheron out of this, brother, or so help me--"
"What? You won't do anything to me, Artemis. If you do, I'll tell every god here how you, the virgin goddess, spread your legs for a common piece of human filth."
Sam reeled from that revelation.
Artemis didn't flinch as she fisted both of her hands as if she was one step away from punching Apollo. "I hate you."
"And I return that to you tenfold, sister. Now leave me."
"I can't. Your people are feeding on the humans because of your curse."
Apollo bristled. "Not my curse. Apollymi was the one who taught them how to steal human souls. She's the one housing and protecting them now. I have nothing to do with it."
"Then lift your curse from your people. Apollymi won't be able to control them if they don't need to take human souls to live."
"I can't."
Artemis shook her head. "Can't or won't?"
"Can't. If I take it back, it will kill me and undo the entire creation of the world. I can't fix this."
Artemis let out a long sigh before she raked him with a repugnant sneer. "You're pathetic, Apollo. Pathetic." She turned and left him alone in his temple where he stared into an orb similar to the one in Sam's palm.
Apollo's hand shook as he conjured an image of Stryker in his orb. His eyes swam with tears. "You were ever disappointing to me, but I never meant to hurt you. I was trying to make you strong." He choked on a sob. "If I could undo this, Strykerius, I would. I would.... I am so sorry for what I've done...."
Sam pulled back from the scene as her head whirled with everything she'd learned.
Especially about Acheron. Was that what had made him the first Dark-Hunter?
He'd been Artemis's lover?
A whore...
Surely Apollo hadn't meant that Acheron was really a whore, whore. Had he? Or was it just his anger at Acheron that caused him to say that?
"Well?" Stryker prompted. "How do I kill Apollo?"
She blinked at Stryker's impatient tone as her mind replayed everything in sequence.
Zephyra sat forward on her throne. "What did you see? Can we break the curse?"