The oldest priest turned to face Ren's father. "I'm sorry, Chief Coatl. There's nothing left to do except prepare sacrifices in hopes the spirits will take mercy and leave Anukuwaya in this world."
Coatl's gaze darkened as he turned to see the son he hated standing there, hale and whole. His rage and hatred were tangible. Cursing, he headed for Ren.
Ren's eyes widened as he realized his father had become aware of his presence. He bolted for the hallway, but it was too late.
His father was on him before he could scurry away. He snatched the boy by his arm and shoved Ren against the stone wall. "What did you do to him?"
"N-n-n-nothing, F-f-f-father."
He backhanded Ren so hard that Ren fell to the ground. "Don't you dare lie to me! I know you're jealous of my son. That you covet his perfection." He grabbed Ren by the hair and wrenched him to his feet. Ren's lips and nose were bleeding as he clutched at his father's hand, trying to get him to let go.
"You better pray, boy, that nothing happens to my son. If Anukuwaya dies, I will gut you myself as an offering for his safe passage to the next realm. Do you understand? Now, whatever it is you have done to him, you better undo, or I will have your life as payment for it."
The vision vanished, leaving Kateri to stare into the eyes of the adult version of that little boy's face. A face that still had bleeding lips from the battle he'd fought for her.
Overwhelmed by it all, she reacted without thought and pulled him into her arms.
Ren froze at the foreign sensation of being held by someone as she buried her face against his neck and tightened her grip around his waist. Her tears dampened his skin, raising chills all over him. He was so stunned that he didn't know how to react to her fierce hug.
And in that one moment, something inside him shattered. It unleashed a long-buried dream that he knew better than to have. One where he lived a normal life with someone who would miss him if he was gone. Someone who would fuss at him if he was late and hadn't called ...
Closing his eyes, he inhaled her scent-a mixture of valerian and primrose. And all he could think about was being inside her. Of spending hours with her wrapped around his naked body.
Was this what it felt like to be loved? Not that he thought for one instant that she loved him. How could she? She didn't know him at all, because if she did, she'd be terrified and running for the nearest hole to hide in.
But love or not, this was the first time anyone had ever held him like this. Like she cared about him.
She'd been right. In all his life, he could count every hug he'd ever received. They were so rare and brief that he'd actually committed them to memory.
No one had ever held him to comfort him. Ever. His head reeled from emotions he couldn't even begin to name, and from the warmth her hug gave him. And here, for one single heartbeat, he allowed himself to feel that maybe, just maybe, he might be worthy of being loved by someone.
Don't be stupid.
The last time he'd entertained that fantasy had been with Windseer.
To this day, he could hear her mocking laughter after he'd made the mistake of confessing his love for her. "You didn't really expect me to say I love you, too, did you? While you are physically appealing and okay in bed, you're weak. Pathetic. You let everyone walk all over you and then wipe their feet on you when they're done. You cower into the shadows and shirk away every time your father draws near. Instead of being a man and standing up for yourself, you allow your brother to take credit for your skills and your kills. You're just a mewling little boy. You won't even accept the Grizzly Spirit's offer because you're too afraid to do so. How could any woman love something as pitiable as you?"
"I'm not p-p-p-p-p-p..." He'd been so upset by her attack that he hadn't been able to get anything else out. He'd stood there sputtering like he was as mentally defective as everyone thought him to be.
"Try 'nugatory' or 'inferior,'" she'd sneered at him. "Maybe you won't stumble over those."
At that point, his fury had been such that he'd feared he was about to strike her. So he'd turned sharply on his heel and headed for the door.
"Wait, Makah'Alay! Don't forget to take your meager p-p-p-pride with you!"
That had been the taunt that sent him over the edge. The one that gutted the hardest.
Intent on proving her and everyone else wrong, on proving to himself that he wasn't the piece of shit everyone thought him to be, he'd left her and gone straight to the Grizzly Spirit to make his bargain.
That had been the last time he'd seen her, and those her last words to him. Once he realized she'd only been using him to free Grizzly, he'd vowed to himself that no matter what, he'd never again love any woman. That he would never, ever open himself up to that kind of pain and humiliation.
It just wasn't worth it.
And he wasn't so weak that he needed validation from another. He lived his life for himself and he preferred it that way. He didn't need anyone else in his world.
"We need to get you something for your pain and wounds."
Kateri's voice dragged him back to the present and to the fact that she was still holding on to him.
For a second, he thought she was talking about his memories, until he again felt the physical pain of his fight. Releasing her, he took a step back, brushing his hand over the worst of the wounds in his side. "There's nothing to be done for them."
"What do you mean?"
"I told you, Kateri. I'm immortal. They'll heal on their own."
"Don't they hurt?"
Of course they did. While he'd beat the crap out of the demon, the demon wasn't inexperienced. Little bastard had kicked the shit out of him.
But she was being kind, so he kept his sarcasm to himself and nodded.
"Then we can-"
"Nothing will take the pain away, Kateri. Dark-Hunter powers don't work that way."
She frowned in confusion. "Dark-who? What?"
He rubbed his clean hand over his face as he remembered that she wouldn't have a clue about his brethren, even though Talon had once been a member of their elite brotherhood.
Although technically, Ren wasn't really one and never had been. He predated the first official Dark-Hunters by a couple thousand years. And because of that, he was the only one considered a Dark-Hunter that Acheron, their leader, hadn't trained. In fact, Acheron hadn't even known Ren existed until Cabeza had crossed over four thousand years ago, and the Atlantean had gone to train him for his Dark-Hunter duties in the Yucatan.